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The company arranges for the food, bedding and all other necessities, as well as the dog itself, to be taken to the host, who can then have the pleasure of caring for a dog without the permanent responsibility.

The owners of the dogs pay for the service.

Gail said: "When we take a dog out for a walk, we meet so many people with their own dogs and everybody always wants to talk to you.

"The dogs always follow us around the house and we get so much love and devotion from them.

"The dogs can be a little bit shy and people sometimes ask if the dogs pine for their owners, but generally they don't. They get 24 hour a day attention from us.

"It is so much fun."

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Graham, 70, an amateur painter, goes a step further.

While the couple are looking after a dog, he will paint a picture of the pooch as a gift for the owners.

The couple said they did get attached to the dogs sometimes, particularly in the early days, but parting with them had become easier.

Gail said: "It's actually quite nice to have a break sometimes.

"You get used to giving the dog back after a while."

Graham walking their latest dog (Image: Leicester Mercury)

Gail said: "The best thing about it is the feeling of happiness you get from the dog you are looking after, especially when you look down and there's this little face looking up at you."

Animals hitting the headlines

Tony Swift, of Barking Mad UK, said: "Having a dog to stay obviously provides a loving canine friendship but just as important is being able to tap into the social benefits of joining a community of like-minded people such as Graham and Gail."